MacLean’s Pale Ale

Brewed by MacLean’s Ales
Style: English Pale Ale
West Grey, Canada

Cask @ Volo. Tastes like a subtle cider! I could not believe it... for a decent ciderness it gets a good rating. Floral with some mild hops, a LOT of malt though. Good dark gold colour as well.

Nice hoppy pale ale. Good body strength and hop bitterness (I could swear it has saaz hop but that would be highly unusual in a pale ale)

On tap at Communist’s Daughter - transparent copper colour with a small white head. Earthy aroma with some English hops. Flavours of caramel, smooth malt and some nice hop balance in the end. This particular style is sort of limiting, but it’s a pretty solid example. A very good and highly sessionable EPA, and one I’d surely try again. Update: had on cask at C’est What and it is a revelation. Supremely balanced flavours are intensified and a real earthy mineral quality shines through with a yeast character. Brilliantly hopped and my new favourite session beer. Draught got 6/3/6/3/14/3.4, Cask gets 7/4/8/3/16/3.8, we’ll split the difference. Good on draught, WONDERFUL on cask.

Cask @ Hostex: I think I lucked out getting this one on cask at a foodservice trade show, so chalk me up as a happy camper to start off. Poured virtually head free, but with a pleasing cloudy copper colour. Aroma is subdued but I could pick out significant hops and a bit of caramel. Flavour is great! Great hopping with an awesome earthiness alongside sweet malts that hit after the hops.

This pale ale pours a nice dark yellow colour and a white rocky head. To the nose...mmm...a slight sauerkraut scent starts it off then maybe rotting vegatables??? Scents are defenently off. First sip was a little off too slight caramel flavour but the rotten scent plus the beer really did it in for me. I have had this beer before and it wasn’t oo bad but this....I’ll have to try another and re-rate.

Cask at The Shepherd’s Crook, Georgetown. This is wonderful stuff. It was dark amber brown with a sizeable fluffy permanent head. The aroma had plenty of citrus and grass in the hops, also a bit of wood. The mouthfeel was medium in body and a bit chewy. I could taste plenty of caramel in the malt with some wood, and some grassy hops behind it; there was plenty of depth in the flavour from the cask with some subtle herbal and earthy elements.

An interesting-looking pale ale, featuring red and orange highlights. Earthy nose and a nice, full, chalky mouthfeel. Earthy flavour profile as well. Excellent bitter hold, with an exceptionally long, savoury finish. A very nice pale ale.

On tap at the Woolwich Arms in Guelph The aroma was barely there a touch of hops pours a rich copper with little to no head or lacing This beer tated just aweful flat and old tasting i am unsure whether the keg was old or not so this one will need to be revisited at some point 330ml bottle courtesy of Lisa Pours a coppery orange with a small white head good lacing The aroma is very earthy and malty The taste is earhty and sweet malts Much better this time around